It's horrible when saying that we've managed to recover all the losses and are basically break-even is considered good news. But that's where we are at with the S&P 500, as of today.

Showing that economists may be no better than weathermen at forecasting, the Labor Department figures for weekly jobless claims dropped 14,000 to 631,000 last week. Economists had predicted a rise.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives both passed a $3.4 trillion compromise budget resolution. However, the word "resolution" should be highlighted, as this is a non-binding measure.

As if we don't have enough to worry about with the current swine flu outbreak, the Commerce Department's report, released Wednesday, shows that the U.S. economy shrank 6.1% (annualized) in Q1 2009. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a 5% annualized decline.

On Monday, the British Bankers Association said that mortgage approvals in the month of March have fallen, both month-to-month and year-over-year.

As the government and more continue to emphasis the need for Americans to spend, including buying houses, many continue to hold back. After all, while companies like Hyundai will refund your money if you lose your job in the first year after buying a car, what about mortgages? There might, however, be something rather obscure that can help.

While last week's jobless numbers for new claims showed improvement, this week's took an unexpectedly high jump, according to the Labor Department.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America earned $2.81 billion after paying preferred dividends, or 44 cents per share, in the first quarter of this year. This compares with a profit of $1.02 billion or 23 cents per share, in the Q1 2008. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a profit of 4 cents per share.

On the same day that JP Morgan Chase (JPM) announced a $2.1 billion profit in the first quarter of 2009, better jobless numbers were announced, with new claims dropping for the second straight week.

Since the financial crisis began, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) has not posted a quarterly loss. It didn't do so today, either.

How many of you have received that "no raises this year" message from the executives at your company? Isn't it comforting to know we're all in this together. Oh, wait, maybe not CEOs, after all.

According to reports this morning, the U.S. Federal Reserve is delivering what they promised. We are in a state of historical low mortgage rates and the subsequent refinancing activity that followed the rate decrease of the past six months is putting more money back into the economy through more usable income in the hands of home owners.